


Sojourn

by Manafaust



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Platonic Relationships, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 06:50:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14910441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manafaust/pseuds/Manafaust
Summary: follow Anakin Skywalker on his quest for self forgiveness, clarity, recovery and redemption as he meets a kind, mute twi’lek farmer and her shunned wife who’s village is attacked every night by grotesque creatures. Joined by the phantom of his former master Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin must unearth why he was spared death and why he awakened here.





	1. The Fallen Knight

   His first night on Coruscant was cold. Anakin tossed and turned in bed before finally leaving the younglings dormitory quietly and tip toeing across the living quarters. He approached the door of Obi-wan’s quarters; there was a sound behind him. He spun about frantically, only to find a short green man walking toward him. He sighed with relief. “Master Yoda,” he said, “I had a bad dream.”

   There was a softness in Yoda’s eyes as he spoke, “be brave, you must. Important, dreams are. But--disturb Obi-wan you cannot. Face these dreams yourself, you must.”

   Anakin avoided Yoda’s gaze. When he had bad dreams back home, his mother would comfort him. Now, even while speaking with Master Yoda he felt more alone than he ever had. “When will I see my mother again?”

   Yoda’s eyes narrowed. “Depend on others, a Jedi must not.”

   Anakin nodded, and reluctantly moved to return to his room. He would remember this.

 

   Not long after initiation into the Jedi academy did Anakin accompany his master on a trip to the senate. It was boring for a twelve year old. He had gotten into an argument with his master about his mother and could not focus on the proceedings. Distraught, he wandered away from Obi-wan and boredly explored the halls of the republic senate. As he walked past a corridor, a tall, pale figure swept into view. Anakin wiped his wet eyes furiously and addressed Senator Palpatine. “Hi Senator.”

   “Oh, hello Ani. Why--you’re crying. Is there something I can help with?”

   “Oh...no I’m sorry. Jedi aren’t supposed to be so weak.”

   Palpatine knelt down and smiled softly. “Oh Ani, there’s nothing wrong with how you feel  I’m sure it’s very stressful training to be a Jedi. Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

   Anakin’s lip upturned and his eyes grew more wet. “Master Obi-wan says we can’t see my mom. He says the republic shouldn’t interfere in Hutt business.”

   Senator Palpatine shook his head and frowned sadly. “How unfortunate. If only the republic were more powerful, had a tighter grip on the galaxy...Anakin, if you ever need someone to talk to about this, I’m here.”

   Anakin nodded. He would remember this.

 

   Anakin gasped for air. His lungs felt like they were full of sand; his limbs were too heavy to move, and his head was swimming. His face was prickly and his lips were dry. Wait--his...his face? Anakin groped for his mask, touching soft, tight, young skin; a strong nose, cheekbones, dark brows, supple lips. Was he…? Anakin grabbed at his head and found shoulder length soft hair. He was...Anakin again. He craned his neck to look down upon his body. It was flesh. Bare flesh. Not mechanical.

   Anakin stood with newfound vigor. Where was he…? He stood on ground, but there was no ground. He breathed air, but there was no atmosphere. All was white. He furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. Was this a fresh form of torture for him? His master’s idea of training? Was he to relive the night of the younglings’ death again? Or was it a dream? A vision? Anakin grabbed for his lightsaber--but there was nothing there, no saber no belt no clothing. He had not felt this vulnerable since he was twelve years old. 

   Anakin furrowed his brow and looked about the emptiness warily. Slowly and suddenly, something started to speak to him. it did not speak in words or sounds, but it told him things. It told him the dark side was gone from his body. So was the light side. He didn’t know who was communicating this or why he was accepting it, and he had no idea what to feel. He had embraced the dark side to save his love, but the darkness which he welcomed into his soul coerced him into choking her near to death. But...the light side of the force was weak…

   “Are you sure about that?”

   Anakin spun around, caught off guard, and saw nothing before him, but heard the voice of his old friend and enemy, Obi-wan Kenobi. Sorrow and indignation filled his body and he opened his mouth to speak, but his old master continued, “Anakin...you can’t take back what Darth Vader did. But, you can still be a good man.”

   Tears streamed from Anakin’s eyes and he whispered, “how? How can I be a good man after what I’ve done? Padme died because of me!” The air was filled with sadness, and Obi-wan did not speak again. Anakin could not feel his presence.

   The abyssal expanse was slowly beginning to enclose upon the young man. A tunnel formed around him. It was hard to make out, like he was seeing it through the corner of her eye, like a dream. It was as though it were building itself around him. Soon the abyss was gone, and Anakin stood in a fully formed rock cave complete with water dripping into shallow pools on the ground. He looked down; still no clothing and no lightsaber  His whole body was covered in strange goop, it made his hair stick to his neck and face and dripped off his fingers. He stumbled along toward a light he could see in the distance. Discombobulated, he clung to the walls for support. 

   Approaching the mouth of the cave, Anakin could see a coastal landscape, the water spanning further than he could see. The sand was golden and sparkled in the bright morning sun. Pine trees rustled farther up the beach where grass had began to spread. Exiting the cave, his bare feet sunk into the sand, which clung to his slimy skin. Blinded by the light, and with no walls to depend on, Anakin stumbled forward dumbly, tripping in the sand every so often. Ahead of him the beach ended at a steep cliff, but to his left grass stretched over a large hill. Eager as always to get out of the sand, Anakin headed for the hill, embracing the feel of dewy grass beneath his feet. His mouth hung open and his eyelids wavered; he was tired. As though he had been awake a lifetime. It was not long until he collapsed.

   Anakin was awake, but could not move his feeble limbs to defend himself when he saw a tall figure approaching from above. A young twi’lek woman wandered into his view, gasped, and rushed to his side. Anakin tried to lift his arms to cover himself but only managed to become more exhausted, and was left clinging to consciousness. The twi’lek blocked out the sun kneeling over him. Anakin could barely hear her; it sounded like he was underwater.  “Are you okay?” 

   “Wh…” the world grew dark, and Anakin was forced to concede, his head falling back into the grass and eyes fading closed. The last thing he could consciously feel was somebody picking him up and being carried.

 

   The light in the small room was dim and did not hurt his eyes. He gazed about the simple room, delighted to see without a mask again. the room fit three things: the bed he lay in, complete with a warm synthetic fur blanket; a crude stool, and a dresser with assorted items littered on it. One of the items...appeared to be a cracked mirror: something Anakin would desperately like to get his hands on. He cast aside his blanket to find that he had been tied into a long tunic. Moving to get out of bed, he found walking on human legs...strange, and he was still a little weak. 

   Anakin stopped in his tracks, spun his head toward the door, and reached for a lightsaber that was not there. He sensed someone approaching. In a split second, the door opened and he was faced with the tall figure from before. It was a twi’lek, blue skinned with long fleshy lekku, or, head tails laid over her shoulders. She was tall, taller than Anakin, with an athletic build and long legs. Her face was strong, with a proud nose, chiseled cheekbones and a sharp chin.The twi’lek was dressed in simple garb, folded brown tunic, leather boots, and a brown shorts. She gasped, and nearly dropped a tray she was holding. Anakin eyed her warily as she approached and set the tray down at the end of the bed. She backed back up--not out of fear but out of respect, as though Anakin were a wild animal. She was probably wise. Standing by the door, she started to use her hands to communicate in sign language. 

_ I am Marin. Please do not be afraid, you’ve been asleep for days. I made you some food. _

   “Thank you.”

_ You know the language? _

__ “It was one of the first things they taught us at…ah, thank you for the food. I’m sorry to have imposed for this long. I’ll get going...as soon as I’ve finished this.”

_ No, you won’t. You have to heal and the nearest medical station is a weeks travel away  _

   “...Where are we?”

_ I’d like to ask you a few questions first, Jedi. _

__ Anakin felt very stupid and vulnerable in that moment. “Why do you think I’m a Jedi?”

_ Well, you were sweating and screaming ‘I’m a Jedi’ in your sleep constantly. _

    “Was there...anything else I said in my sleep?”

_ No. Why…? _

__ “Nothing.” Anakin shook his head. So she didn’t know who he was. This...was good. He envied her. Anakin set to gorging on some bread on the tray. He felt like he had two stomachs. Marin took a seat in the stool beside the bed, and continued to sign.

_ What were you doing at the shore? Where are your things? _

   “I...I don’t know…I’m Anakin.”

   Anakin sensed no animosity. She seemed to believe him.  _ Please, rest here. _ With that Marin left. Anakin finished his food and set it aside, lying back down and staring at the ceiling. What sordid twist of fate had lead him here? To finally taste the sweet redemption of death in his own son’s arms, then wake up in a strange land with most of his limbs and his lungs intact and no lightsaber? A jedi was little without their lightsaber, but Anakin still recalled his telekinetic powers, and he felt more in tuned to the force now than he had in twenty years; not only did his health restore his force connection, but it felt as though a veil had been lifted between he and that which is all things. Even so, he did not feel threatened here; Marin seemed genuine enough. 

  Sick of wallowing in the generosity of others, it wasn’t long until Anakin managed to get out of bed. Once standing, he stretched his limbs in the way he couldn’t in over two decades. He opened the old fashioned swinging door to the room and found himself in a small, dimly but warmly lit hallway. The walls were covered in pictures of a happy family, composed of what seemed to be a twi’lek woman and her nautolan wife or partner; the twi’leks fleshy two head tails hung over her shoulders and the nautolan’s tentacle ‘hair’ was bound by a ribbon, her large black eyes framed by heavy lids. They were accompanied by a utility droid; it was similar to Anakin’s R2 unit, but it’s head had a flat top and sides and it’s paint was a faded red. There was an abundance of photos, in all manner of mismatched frames. To Anakin’s right, a staircase, to his left, the hallway continued then opened into what might have been a kitchen. Hoping to find Marin, Anakin turned to the left, walking gently down a warm wooden hallway. 

   He came out at a small kitchen attached to a smaller living room. The kitchen had shabby patio door taking up one wall and a line of worn white cupboards adjacent to it. The tile floor was chipping in places, and there was an old looking wooden table that didn’t match the white cupboards, taking up the center of the room. There, Marin sat with her back to the patio door and the green skinned nautolan woman sat across from her with her back to Anakin. Presently, Marin spotted Anakin in the entryway.  _ Mana, this is our young ‘jedi’ Anakin. _

   The nautolan turned around and faced the human. She was striking indeed, with low but cutting cheekbones, supple lips, wide nostrils and a wild mane of green tentacles lying on her shoulders. She wore a brown linen half-top tied over her chest, and brown linen shorts with hardy leather calf boots. “Ah, hello Anakin,” Anakin could see Marin reading Mana’s lips as she spoke, “It’s good to see that you’re alright. Marin tells me you were in rough shape when she found you.”

   Anakin took a moment to respond, bewildered by simple decency. Part of him was appalled by and unsure of how to return their courtesy, having lived as a lord of the Galactic Empire for 20 years. But, part of him...part of him felt young and naive and fruitful and grateful for their generosity. He bowed his head and replied, “thank you. I’ll be out of your way soon enough, if you would perhaps have some clothes--”

_ No, no,  _ Marin’s fists moved quickly,  _ I would be ashamed to leave somebody in need alone. I’ve got some clothes you can borrow and I can show you to town. Do you know anyone around here who can help you? _

  “I...ah…” Anakin’s stomach turned. He couldn’t bear the sting of these people’s naive kindness. He swallowed. “Does the name Darth Vader mean anything to you? Skywalker?”

_ No, is that your friend? And your family? _

  Anakin smiled dryly. “Darth Vader is the furthest thing from my friend, and yes, my family name is Skywalker but...well I don’t have much family--that would want to see me…”

   An awkward pause hung over the room. Anakin resisted the impulse to slap himself silly, and at length Mana responded. “I feel ya there, buddy. “

   “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you…”   
_ It’s okay, _ Marin cut in,  _ Mana’s parents don’t approve of our relationship--what with me being a farmer. _

   Anakin cocked his head, confused. “Why?”

   “Well, you know, a farmer’s life is a dangerous one, what with the ones that come at night and all.”

  “The...the ones that come at night?”

   Marin and Mana exchanged worried looks.  _ You must have hit your head down by the beach. _ Anakin went with his instincts, which usually told him to do so, and lied, nodding his head. Marin continued,  _ the ones that come at night attack after the sun goes down. Those that do not die in the attack...come back… _

   Marin swallowed, and looked down. Mana continued, “they come back as something else. But, the village  _ needs  _ farmers. We would starve otherwise.”

   “I see.” Anakin narrowed his eyes as he peered out the window behind them. In his youth, a situation like this would get his blood pumping, urge him to play the heroic jedi and rush in to rescue the villagers. And...and...well he was feeling like that now. Only, now he had to wonder if he had murdered any of their relatives.

_ Please, _ Marin signed _ sit. We have some bantha milk if you’d like some? _

   “Uh, yes please.” Mana got up and approached a refrigerator by the entryway, taking out a glass pitcher full of blue milk. Anakin sat down at the table. “Before you offer me any further kindness…” he muttered, “there is something I must amend.”

   Marin smiled, and Mana studied him warily. “I’ve lead you to believe, “ he continued, “that I am a Jedi. Well, I’m not. Not anymore, at least.”

   Marin cocked her head, more confused than anything else, “you look young,” she said, “jedi retire that early now do they?”

   “No, no it’s not like that I...I was expelled from the order.” Anakin braced himself for resounding shock and anger, but Mana shrugged as she poured him a glass of milk. 

   “They’re an uptight crowd. Our region hasn’t seen a jedi in oh...must be decades now. They preach pacifism, so they don’t really care about our problems.”

   Anakin nodded; she was right about that. “What problems?”

   “Well, besides the attacks at night strage weather phenomena has been tearing up the area and we’ve been cut off from other communities due to floods and rock slides.

   “Hm.” Anakin  tented his fingers over the table and gazed through dark brows into the sky outside. He was having trouble sensing the force in this place; it was murky, as though muffled by something or someone.

   Marin waved at Anakin to pay her attention, and she signed,  _ I have some clothes for you, follow me _ . Anakin obliged, and followed Marin out of the kitchen and down the hall toward the staircase at the end. They climbed a set of creaky, poorly lit stairs up to a second floor, which consisted of three doors, presumably bedrooms and a bathroom or closet. Marin moved to open one of the doors, and the door swung into a closet. The closet was full, from wall to wall floor to ceiling of clothing, tools, art supplies, and droid parts. Marin started to root through a clothes rack, occasionally holding up shirts to Anakin, measuring their size against his.  _ Here, _ she said, handing him a pair of black leggings, black ankle boots, and a black dress-like tunic that reached mid thigh and had a lace up v down under the collar bone.

   “Thank you so much for this,” he said, accepting the garments, “you wear a lot of black?”

   Marin smiled.  _ No, but I think you do. Do not worry about these; I don’t wear them anymore since I transitioned. _

   “Hm, alright, but I still feel indebted to you.” More than you know, he thought.

   There was a slow beep and the sound of wheels as a worn red astromech droid strolled up to Anakin, beeping expectantly.  _ This is Anakin, T5.  _ T5 greeted him with a hearty hello of a beep, then continued in a droid code Anakin did not know. Marins eyes widened, and she gestured for Anakin to come with her as she hurried down the stairs.

   Mana was up from the table and had, in a surprising move, pushed it on its side against the patio door. “I know,” she said, “I lost track of time too. Anakin, go get dressed and then you can help us barricade.”

   “Barricade?”

   “The things that come at night don’t hesitate to break thresholds. We must secure every orifice save we be tonight’s victims.”

   Anakin nodded, and rushed back to the room where he had slept to change. As he did, he could not help but let his thoughts bounce about excitedly. Was it some sort of nocturnal animal which preyed on the farmers? Assassin droids? Rakghouls? Gah, if only he had his lightsaber right about now...Anakin opened the door, dressed, and Mana shouted for him to go upstairs and barricade the washroom and bedroom. He nodded emphatically, and crawled  up the stairs and into the bathroom, where he found there were already loose boards and a hammer stacked in the shower as well as a bucket of nails beside the toilet. As he pounded the nails into the wall, he peered out the window curiously. The sun was already setting, and twilight had fallen over the fields. The pine forests which encircled the fields had already grown dark. Anakin had a bad feeling about this.

   “Alright,” Mana sai as Anakin returned downstairs, “we should be alright now. You can and should sleep in the guest room again tonight. And whatever you do--don’t make any loud noises.” Anakin nodded.

 

   Screaming; screaming and crying. It assaulted his mind and ears, a cacophony of death and destruction which permeated every fibre of his being. Children on Alderaan ran for their lives from a laser than they could not escape. Tusken raiders swept into small villages, slaughtering scared slaves in the street. Younglings at the temple cried for their masters as they were cut down. He was screaming, reaching out, crying out for help, and nobody was listening. 

_ Thud! Thud! Thud! _

   Anakin jolted awake, dripping in sweat. Taking a moment to adjust,he wobbled over to the door and swung it open, breathing heavily. Marin stood outside his door, a lantern attached to her head by way of a headband. She was angry. Very angry. Anakin didn’t know how to react, and stood there dumbly.

_ What is going on?  _ She demanded,  _ we told you not to make a sound _ .

   “I wasn’t…”

_...You were screaming and hollering like death itself was upon you...you’re sweaty, is there something wrong? _

   How could he ever explain to her, that his life was death and it was all his fault and he could never escape it? “I’m sorry,” he pleaded.

_...I-- _ . Marin’s hands froze, and she put a finger to her lips, eyes wide, and ushered Anakin back into his room, crouching behind the dresser. Anakin’s heart was racing, he could feel his blood pumping and the force flowing through him. His hand itched for a saber. All he could do now, though, was sit still and wait. He wasn’t sure why Marin had suddenly--he heard it. He felt it; a hostile presence was circling the house, its feet heavy, its breathing coarse. 

   Suddenly, Anakin’s heart skipped a beat as he heard a thunderous crash, and knew that the barricade in the kitchen had been compromised. Anakin had not felt this vulnerable in a long time, and he did not like it. Heavy footsteps moved throughout the house slowly, deliberately, as though an intelligent mind was...searching the house. Anakin held his breath. His muscles tensed and he was ready to leap into action the moment the-- _ bang! _ The door flew open, and a monstrous figure stood hulking in the hallway, bowing its head to get inside. In the dark, Anakin could not clearly see his assailant. But, he could see tears springing from Marin’s eyes, and heard a rumbling of feet running down stairs. Thinking fast and acting faster, Anakin thrust his hand out toward the creature. It emitted a hideous, high pitched roar or moan and craned its neck toward his hand as though to bite it, before it was knocked back out of the room and into the hallway wall. As the creature was stunned, Anakin waved his hand and the bed flew across the room, barricading the door. He didn’t know how much good that would do him, seeing as the creature had already broken through one barricade, but it bought him time. Ignoring her bewildered gaze, Anakin looked into Marin’s eyes sternly. “Hide here,” he implored, to little resistance. 

   Marin continued to huddle behind the dresser, and Anakin stepped toward the doorway, hand outstretched toward the creature. It was dark, but he could see shapes of the assailant by the light of the moon outside the broken barricade. It had long legs that were bent like those of a goat, its abdomen was slender but its ribcage bulky, and long, gangly arms dragged on the ground. Possibly most horrid, its neck was grotesquely long, and it drooped forward, its head on par with its collar bone. 

   Torment ripped at Anakin’s soul. He knew ways to destroy this creature, possibly--force lightning and force choking, he found, were effective killers. But--every time he tapped into the dark side of the force, bits of him were chipped away, and all that was left was a murderer. “Hey!”

   Anakin’s eyes shot toward the stairs. Mana stood there, holding something, and yelled, “take this!” As she threw a cylindrical object toward Anakin. With feline reflexes, he grabbed a hold of it...instantly recognizing: his Jedi lightsaber. Not about to question it in this time of dire circumstances, he ignited the blade and raised it above his head--the creature roared its sickening roar once again and raised a gangly arm to slash at Anakin’s chest as his lightsaber came down on its head.

   “AAAah!” Anakin fell backward, clutching his lightsaber tightly in one hand and holding his chest with the other. Mana and Marin came to his side. 

   “I’ll go get some bandages, Marin, you repair the barricade, Anakin--no more screaming!”

   Anakin nodded solemnly, however, he knew: the screaming was not over.

 


	2. Old Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin is a broken man; he deals with his own evil and the evil that corrupted him in conversation with an old friend.

   As dawn broke over the horizon and tangerine light seeped in through the cracks in the barricades, Marin declared it safe to clean up the mess; she began dismantling the barricades as Anakin and Mana attempted to move the corpse. In the light of day, the creature was even more grotesque. It’s skin was like leather, but it was loose and grey and smelled of rotting flesh. Crooked white teeth jutted out of its misshapen mouth, ribs stretched its skin to its breaking point, and its ‘face’ was devoid of eyes. Its hands and feet bore long black claws and it carried an overall aura of death. Mana heaved at the side of the body, but it wouldn’t budge. She lied back against the wall, panting, and gestured for Anakin to try. He nodded. “Before I do...I need to know exactly how you got this lightsaber.” He gestured toward his lightsaber hanging at his belt.

   Mana shrugged, “It washed up on the shore a while back. We dared not try to use it ourselves but I figured after seeing your abilities that you really were a jedi, and you should have it.”

   Anakin’s eyes narrowed, and he probed Mana’s feelings for any signs of deception. He sensed no animosity nor hidden motives. But...why did she have his lightsaber? How had it appeared here--and where exactly was here? “That was my lightsaber, before I...parted from the jedi. I did terrible things with it.”

   “Well, you did a very good thing for us last night. We would have died.”

   “But...it was my fault that the thing broke in. I’m a stain on your household and I should leave.” Anakin raised his arm and the creature’s body lifted into the air.   
   “Don’t apologize! You can’t control your dreams.”

   Anakin breathed in deeply, becoming frustrated with this woman’s unfailing kindness. “My dreams are a result of the horrors I have wrought.”

   “Just let me thank you!”

_ Slam! _

   The corpse of the killed creature flew across the hall through the kitchen and into the patio door. Silence fell over the corridor.

   “I’ll clean that up,” Anakin muttered, turning his face from Mana and heading for the kitchen. She did not press him further, and climbed the stairs to help Marin. He stalked toward the corpse, threw open the patio doors with the force, then floated the corpse outside into the fields, carrying it in front of him and heading for the tree line. The forest was dark and untraveled, ferns and vines and above ground roots running rampant. Anakin’s boots stomped on the ground and his chest heaved. Rage bubbled inside of him. Why were these women being so nice to him? Why had he not stayed dead upon the death star? He did not deserve a second chance. Those children at the coruscant temple didn’t have a second chance. Padme didn’t have a second chance. Tears sprung forth from oceanic blue eyes and Anakin’s face distorted into an expression of pain and suffering as he threw the body of the creature; it hit a tree with a great splintering sound, and slumped to the ground. Anakin put his face in his hands and collapsed. To the cold forest floor himself.

   “Self pity is not a good look on you.”

   Anakin did not bother to stand or look up at the sound of Obi-wan’s voice. “What do you want?” A bluish glow invaded his peripheral vision and he looked to his left to find his old friend Obi-wan sitting down beside him; only, he looked and sounded the way he did at the end of the clone wars, the last time they spoke as friends. there was a solemn look in his eyes, and he was semi translucent with a faint blue glow. 

   “I don’t want anything from you,” Obi-wan said, cryptic as always, “what do you want?”

   “What do I want? I want to die! I don’t want to have to think about them anymore! All the people who died under my reign, the jedi who fell during order 66, my own son who lost his arm because of me! I want to forget how I let myself be manipulated by a man I could have killed easily before our duel! Because of my arrogance and fear a galaxy fell the empire and the dark side took over my mind. I won’t let these women suffer the same fate as anyone else who was ever truly kind to me!”

   Obi-wan’s brow furrowed and he exhaled. “What’s stopping you?” 

   “I...I’m a coward. I could never bring myself to do it with what little of me was left in Vader, and I can’t now.” Anakin took his lightsaber and rolled it over in his hands, thumbing over the activation button and beginning to sob softly.

   Obi-wan’s face twisted in an array of emotions not fit for a jedi; anger, confusion, pity, love. Anakin rubbed his eyes aggressively and sniffed loudly, getting up. He began to use the force to move dirt, digging a hole. Obi-wan offered a feeble chuckle, “Master Yoda would be so disappointed in such casual use of the force.”

   Anakin took a deep breath, resenting his own inability to take what his friend said lightly. “Make no mistake, Obi-wan. I blame myself for my fall. However--the old jedi council was corrupt. They may not have been as...insidious as I was lead to believe but they were puritanical, uptight hypocrites.”

   “Your son is a jedi, is he not?”

   Anakin dropped a load of dirt and spun around. “Luke is an honorable man, full of love and compassion. He is a good jedi; but I’m sure the council would disagree. He loves his friends. He fought me, the most powerful warrior in the galaxy and his own father, to save them. Had he not shown me compassion and exposed me to the light side of the force once again Anakin Skywalker wouldn’t have killed Palpatine and Vader would have destroyed the jedi once and for all.”

    “...perhaps you’re right.”

   Anakin went back to digging, saying dryly, “a submission of error, old friend? How rare.”

   Ignoring this, Obi-wan approached Anakin and he felt, not physically but through the force, his hand rest on his shoulder. “Oh, Anakin…” he said solemnly, “if only Qui-gon had trained you, you might have...turned out differently. I--I’m sorry, Anakin.”

   Anakin turned to face his former master with tears in his eyes. He often wondered himself if Qui-gon’s rebellious attitude would have spared him all the pain he suppressed by order of the jedi, or if such recklessness would only have allowed him to fall to the dark side sooner. None of that mattered anymore, though. He fell and he did terrible things to people who had never wronged him. His lips trembled as he spoke, “you weren’t the best master, Obi-wan. But...my isolation and manipulation by Palpatine was not your fault.” 

   Obi-wan sighed and looked down into the dirt. “You were a child. I should have kept a closer eye on you, I should have known a sith would take advantage of the innocence of a child.”

   Anakin wiped his eyes and continued digging, but did not respond. He knew it to be true that Palpatine had manipulated him since he was a child--but, wasn’t that partially his fault? Wasn’t he the one who allowed him into his life? 

   “No!” Obi-wan’s voice sounded like a drum throughout the forest. “Anakin, Palpatine was a manipulator. He wanted you to feel this way.”

   Anakin’s chest heaved as he sighed. The hole was dug, and he began to lower the creature into it, piling dirt over it. Suddenly, a scream rang out from the fields. Dropping a pile of dirt mid-air, Anakin grabbed his lightsaber and ran.


End file.
